To Jim, Kev, Fiona, Steve, Anttal63 and Smithy, thanks for your kind wordsDorothy, yes, the scalpel work will add depth to the deadwood. Thanks for lightening the photo.Jadester, yes I do workshops but only one to one, as I have'nt the room for groups.Andy, thanks for filling in the gaps. Its nice to know.

out of interest why did you part with this tree???when i got this tree i had spent a couple of hours around this nursery and decided not to buy anything!!till i saw this tree tucked at the back, i knew it had potential?!

You are more than welcome to try! You have a better chance than me to make something of this tree! With regards to the little yew's change of angle, will the roots be buried or will it be airlayered?! Thanks again the vast improvement so far!

Thanks Ian. I was going to ask, what is the criteria of shohin? Is a tree thats 10", judged too large even though its of small proportions. I seem to remember Marco Invernizzi, saying something along those lines. By the way, it would be great to see more of your trees posted.

It`s a difficult one Will. I think 10" is about the limit, but a taller very thin tree can pass as shohin too I think but certainly Marco or Peter Warren or John Armitage are the ones to consult on this one.Will try and post some trees but sometimes struggle a bit, seems a little complicated at times. Not really that good on computers.

Ian is about right in that you seldom would find a Shohin above 10", but the height is not the only consideration. The overall proportions of the tree are as much to do with it, as is the pot size, as is the overall (and very dificult to quantify and explain) impression created by the tree. IMO it is unlikely this yew would be considered a Shohin.

There is a good explanation of how there is no simple answer to the "What Size is a Shohin?" question on p7 of Morten's book on Shohin bonsai. It is certainly the best I have encountered and well worth a read - as indeed is the entire book.

Eaton has a fondness for shohin, and I think, with further back budding and wiring, I can reduce the height by 2", without compromising the design. The present foliage was as far back as I risked going. Im glad there is an element of interpretation as far as clasification is concerned. Rigid rules are boring. Thanks for the info and I'm sure there will be more to come!?

By the way Ian. You mentioned three names of people to consult on this matter. I overheard one of those mentioned, berating this very forum as a "waste of time and there's nothing to learn from such forums".

Just shows that even "experts" can get it wrong. It also makes us (or should make us) even more indebted to those who do contribute on here - big "names" and otherwise - as learning opportunities abound. I for one am not planning on going anywhere else.

will baddeley wrote:By the way Ian. You mentioned three names of people to consult on this matter. I overheard one of those mentioned, berating this very forum as a "waste of time and there's nothing to learn from such forums".

They probably print out there emails... BTW I know who you mean as it has been said to me

Hi Will I wanted the thread to run a while before I chipped in. If the 'original' carved tree was valued as a 4 then your work has taken it way up to a 9. Really great sensitive work... removing the hand of man and making the tree appear natural. who says carving is unnecessary...

Obviously, I disagreed with his views. Surely, if that was the case, bonsai books, talks and demos woud be a waste of time also? Anything other than hands on!Thankyou Tony. Can you post some of Makita Bobs work. I love to try and work out how other people carve and learn from it.

Some people have experienced only one kind of learning and are set in their ways. Some are frightened of computers. It's a shame they don't dip their toes in the water, they could even find they like it. Their loss is also our loss.

I do hope that the planned future developments will help bring more "into the fold".

Here's the only one of Bob at work that I could find, from 2008. Didn't have my stills camera this year as I was filming video (before you ask - later, I have to edit it).

_________________“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin.

I agree with Kev's comments, but would add that sometimes some people just like to make these comments for effect without really meaning them.

I also think, however, that we do need to inject a note of caution into this thread as names have been mentioned, perhaps unfairly. At least two of those people to my knowledge regularly trawl this forum (not necessarily posting) so they obviously do not discount it that much. Indeed, those two have made positive comments regarding IBC to me.

Bottom line is, we all learn in different ways. Demos are of limited value to me as are group workshops when compared to a one-to-one workshop. But I would never say I learnt nothing - every snippet is still of value to me at my stage of experience. For the more experienced/better bonsaist these may be their meat and drink.

So maybe we should just put down the unfortunate remarks as a bad hair day for one of them.

Which brings me back to Makita Bob and his dandruff problem above. Can he carve well?

No no no no no, not a secret. It's already been discussed. It's the reason for the pot auctions. The reclamation of our well known internetbonsaiclub.org URL, reinstatement of a website to run alongside the IBC forum, as it used to be, but redesigned, brought up to date and hopefully improved. I'd like this to also become the repository of some of the superb threads that are generated from time to time. These would be reworked as articles with any unnecessary comments and backpatting edited out.

If anyone has favourite thread(s) from this year that they would like to see "immortalised" on the site, please PM me your suggestion(s).

As I type, I realised that this message is important, so I'll copy it to announcements so it goes on the Home page.

Thanks for prompting me Will.

Last edited by Kev Bailey on Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

_________________“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin.